The wounded soldiers helped each other up and stood to plead with Bai Qingyan.
"Your Majesty, let us wounded soldiers stay behind to bring up the rear. If we follow, we’ll only slow our brothers down..."
"If we stay, Your Majesty and the brothers will have a chance at life!"
"Yes, Your Majesty, we’re already injured. Even if we cross the river, we might not survive!" The Centurion looked to Liu Pinggao, "General, you must escort His Majesty across the river!"
Bai Qingyan’s eyes welled up with tears, her fists clenched tightly, emotions surging within her.
With no reinforcents, retreat is the only option...
But crossing the river doesn’t guarantee the soldiers can reach the other side alive.
Bai Qingyan didn’t want to abandon a single soldier, but to delay any longer... with the Xiping army pressing in, how many could survive after fighting to the death?
"Your Majesty, if you’re worried, this old servant will stay!" Wei Zhong spoke up too; he had been injured protecting Bai Qingyan, his arm wrapped in bandages, blood still seeping through, "In my life, I’ve pledged to protect Your Majesty! Staying today... even if I die, it will be a worthy death."
"Your Majesty!" Liu Pinggao looked at Bai Qingyan, knowing how hard this order was to give, "Give the order!"
An archer perched in a towering tree saw the approaching firelight in the distance, quickly slid down, stepped over the enemy corpses, and rushed to Bai Qingyan to report, "Your Majesty! There’s firelight approaching from afar!"
Bai Qingyan tightened her grip on her bow and arrow, her heart settling.
"Your Majesty, could it be reinforcents from the Yan Kingdom?" Liu Pinggao was anxious.
Bai Qingyan shook her head, "No. The late King of Xiping and this Crown Prince of Xiping both seek to take my life as the Emperor of Zhou, looking to gain leverage among the vassal kings of the Yan Kingdom. Especially now, with the Xiping army outnumbering Zhou several tis, and Zhou trapped on the mountain! If he sent soone to seek reinforcents from other vassal kings, he wouldn’t have hastily ordered the entire Xiping army to charge up the mountain like this! It must be reinforcents from our Zhou!"
As Bai Qingyan finished speaking, she climbed onto a rock and shouted loudly, "Soldiers! Reinforcents from our Zhou have arrived! We must hold firm! Wait for the Xiping army to ascend before we strike again! Then follow my orders to coordinate with our reinforcents and carve a bloody path out! Today... as long as we survive, we will summon our Zhou soldiers upon returning to the city and annihilate Yan!"
"Annihilate Yan!"
"Annihilate Yan!"
"Annihilate Yan!"
The soldiers’ blood was ignited by Bai Qingyan’s words, unafraid even when faced with the Xiping army several tis their number.
·
At the foot of the mountain, the King of Xiping heard the screams and shouts from above, loudly urging his soldiers to charge up and offering great rewards for the head of the Zhou Emperor.
"Report..."
Suddenly, a rider sped in, a man in a Xiping King’s guard outfit leaped from the horse before it stopped, almost falling, and shouted loudly, "Report! Crown Prince, bandits have raided the Xiping King’s manor, taking the Princess... the Crown Princess Consort, the three Young Masters, and your concubines! As well as the families of your second and third brothers!"
The Crown Prince of Xiping was stunned, the first thought in his mind was the Emperor of Zhou, Bai Qingyan.
But their Xiping army was the one launching the surprise attack, how did the Zhou Emperor foresee it and send people to kidnap their family from the Xiping King’s manor?
The only ones who knew of their full deploynt were his vassal king uncles! Could it be... them?!
"Crown Prince, this must be the work of those vassal kings, likely attempting to leverage the Princess and Crown Princess Consort, the Young Masters against you after you kill the Zhou Emperor!" the counselor in black advised.
"Bah! Shaless things!" The Crown Prince of Xiping spat, "The battle isn’t even won yet, and they’re already scheming from within! Those curs!"
"Report..." a scout rushed back on horseback, shouting, "Crown Prince, the Zhou reinforcents are less than a mile away!"
"Crown Prince, I believe that since it’s so, the Princess and Crown Princess Consort and the Young Masters must be safe for now. The imdiate priority is still to stop the Zhou reinforcents and kill the Zhou Emperor!" the counselor in black advised again.
Initially, the counselor in black had intended to besiege and wait for other vassal kings to arrive, but since the Crown Prince of Xiping disagreed, resolving the current crisis took precedence.
Bai Jinzhi’s swift horse was nearly unable to catch up with Xiao Rongyan ahead.
Their reinforcents could see from afar the firelight illuminating the night sky, smoke billowing like black clouds, and fear gripped Bai Jinzhi’s heart.
She was afraid her Eldest Young Lady and others couldn’t hold on until reinforcents arrived!
Their Zhou reinforcents had t Xiao Rongyan on the way; Xiao Rongyan had captured all twenty-six people from the Xiping King’s manor, including three infants still in swaddling clothes, leaving no one behind.
Xiao Rongyan had been inspecting epidemic cities for the Emperor, traveling slowly with the Regent Prince’s carriage, while leading a guard detachnt on fast horses to investigate other cities. It was because of this... when other vassal kings attacked Xiao Rongyan’s carriage, they failed to capture him. Instead, Xiao Rongyan saw through their intentions.
The rebellion among the Yan Kingdom vassal kings was unexpected for Xiao Rongyan, yet logical... although partly due to his exposed identity as the Imperial Consort of Zhou, it was also because the vassal kings saw the Yan Kingdom’s gamble against Zhou as hopeless. If Yan rged into Zhou, Zhou would surely reduce the vassals, with the forr Jin Kingdom vassal king’s downfall still fresh in mory.
Therefore, these vassal kings made a sudden move, knowing Bai Qingyan was in Zhou, as expected.
Xiao Rongyan calculated Bai Qingyan’s route and guessed the Xiping King would strike at Bai Qingyan. Sure enough, upon reaching Xiping, he found the Xiping King had mobilized all his forces. He imdiately ordered the guards to capture all the family mbers at the Xiping King’s manor, intending to rush to discuss with Bai Qingyan, but unexpectedly encountered Bai Jinzhi with reinforcents, and the two rode swiftly together.
They saw from afar the Xiping army’s ranks, heavy shield soldiers lined up blocking the reinforcents’ path, Xiao Rongyan reined his horse...
Bai Jinzhi also raised her hand, calling the soldiers to halt.
The Xiping army had expected the Zhou forces to charge imdiately but were surprised when they stopped. The general in charge of blocking them looked at the masked man on horseback at the front, eyes narrowing— it was the Regent Prince!
He then looked at the woman riding beside the Regent Prince, guessing it was the high noble lady of Zhou who escaped today, eyes narrowing.
Listening to the sounds of slaughter from the mountain, Bai Jinzhi was anxious, shouting loudly, "Bring out your King of Xiping!"
"The Regent Prince indeed colludes with Zhou in secret, having long betrayed the country!" The general ignored Bai Jinzhi, looking at Xiao Rongyan, determined, since this Zhou reinforcent wasn’t large, and with the Regent Prince delivered here, they could kill the Zhou Emperor and the Regent Prince together, sending them to the netherworld. "The Regent Prince’s betrayal warrants death by all! Today, whoever takes the Regent Prince’s head, I will personally recomnd for great reward! A hundred gold, a thousand gold, even ten thousand is no issue!"
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